Jonathan

I was home schooled from first grade through twelfth. Up through eighth grade, I studied from the curriculum of Calvert School, a private liberal arts school in Baltimore Maryland. I am a graduate of Covenant College, a small liberal arts college in north Georgia. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in both Philosophy and Mathematics. My studies in Philosophy focused on metaphysics, philosophy of language, and logic. I received a Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. After that I went to the University of Arizona to work on my PhD in Mathematics. I studied for three semesters, passed my qualifying examinations, and then decided to switch career paths. I am currently in a dual Masters program at Georgia State University studying Actuarial Science and Mathematical Risk Management in the Robinson College of Business.

I have been private tutoring high school and college students in mathematics since 2007. I have also tutored post-college students in GRE preparation and in preparation for teaching Calculus 3. While continuing my studies I have had the opportunity to serve as a proof reader for the term papers and statements of purpose of other students. I also have experience of guiding a student through the process of writing a paper from scratch. This in particular was very rewarding.

Mathematics is beautiful. I was led to it initially by its mystery, and I was drawn further by glimpses of its beauty. I enjoy tutoring Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Pre-calculus, and I get even more excited about the calculus sequence and the material that follows after it.

For each student I tutor, I try to find out what motivates them. I am not someone who believes that advanced mathematics is something that every person uses on a daily basis. But I know that mathematics is older than writing and has emerged in every major civilization, and I believe that everyone can learn to see its beauty. Furthermore, I believe that mathematics is something that is learned by doing. As such, I tutor mathematics by leading the student with a series of guided questions. I aim for a balance between the abstract and the concrete by using several examples and asking the student about what patterns they notice.